Boy you described my childhood hunting experiences to a T. I started at about age 12 with my Dad, By age 14 I was out small game hunting, bringing home a limit of rabbits that my beagle and I got for the dinner table. I would spend entire days at age 14 over Christmas break from school providing food for our family, and having a great time doing it! And as you describe, you could hunt "out the door". It is a different world now, in a lot of ways.